Integrating Health Promotion and Mental Health : An Introduction to Policies, Principles, and Practices

Mental health systems are in a crucial transition period, thanks to the increasing prominence of health promotion theory and a corresponding shift toward emphasizing wellness and empowerment, holistic and family-friendly design, and empirically supported treatment. Such changes demand adjustments to mental health education, and re-education, to maintain a common ground among students, specialists, and providers. The first book of its kind, Integrating Health Promotion and Mental Health presents a seamless framework for approaching contemporary mental health problems.

In this informative and engaging text, healthcare expert Vikki L. Vandiver shows how mainstream mental health services can realistically begin to utilize health promotion principles. Vandiver begins by approaching the need for mental health reform based on stakeholder perspectives and providing an overview of the history and practice of health promotion, leading into a discussion of how health promotion practices can be incorporated into evidence-based mental health treatments, particularly those for women with co-morbid health and mental health conditions and children with mental health needs. Finally, Vandiver offers an articulate summary and critique that sheds light on how mental health administrators can incorporate health promotion concepts and practices in their organizations in a strategic, culturally competent manner.

Driven by theory and the most recent data, Vandiver's writing is also eminently accessible; the pages are rich with conceptual diagrams, case examples, and testimonies from mental health consumers. Integrating Health Promotion and Mental Health will help specialists, researchers, and students alike in fields such as public health, nursing, social work, health psychology, psychiatric rehabilitation, and counseling to comprehend the basics of health promotion and how they can lead to new and more effective practice models.

Dr. Vandiver, DrPH, MSW, is Professor of Social Work at Portland State University and Clinical Associate Professor with the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University. She currently serves as Vice Chair, Board of Directors, with Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. a not-for-profit, community-based behavioral healthcare organization and has recently served as a member of the Traumatic Brain Injury Study Committee with the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM), Washington, D.C. She has over 30 years of clinical and administrative experience in the field of community mental health.